Our Team
Vinum Cellars was founded in 1997 by first generation, California family winemakers Richard Bruno and Chris Condos in the Napa Valley financing their dream on credit cards. Their focus was then, and remains searching California’s coastal vineyards and special microclimates in search of the best vineyards grown by the states best growers. The long-term partners consider their humble roots in the development of products and mandate that each wine offer considerable high quality-to-price ratio. What this means is each wine is literally hand crafted from single vineyards and made with a small lot philosophy. From Coastal Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Vinum makes varietal wines from single vineyards and appellations throughout California.
Richard pursued his interest in wine by going into the restaurant business in 1985.Working with Master Sommelier Larry Stone at Rubicon Restaurant in San Francisco as a waiter and bartender gave him the opportunity to taste rare and exiting wines from around the world and to learn about them. With plans to become a winemaker, he then attended UC Davis to learn Viticulture & Enology in 1994 and graduated in 1997. Richard worked for various wineries from Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz to Rosenblum in Alameda, Alexander Valley in Sonoma and Folie a Deux in the Napa Valley. From there he transitioned into consulting under industry veteran Tom Eddy and has worked as an independent wine consultant in California and Colorado since 1999. He was the Director of Winemaking for Don Sebastiani & Sons from 2000 through 2009 and has consulted for various wineries including Niebaum-Coppola, Michael Pozzan Winery, Acre Wines and Wander & Ivy among others and is based in the Napa Valley.
Chris grew up in a large Greek family, His grandfathers made wine, his father sells wine, so naturally he thought that someone in the family should do both. After graduating with a Plant Ecology degree, Chris went on to study Viticulture & Enology at UC Davis. In 1995 he went to work for Pine Ridge Winery in Napa as their enologist, mainly making Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and, of course, Chenin Blanc. Currently Chris is a winemaking consultant for Kathryn Kennedy Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and recently started a new brand called Horse & Plow Winery.